Wow, it’s really been a long time since I last wrote something here! If I kept posting at the same pace, this would be the last Rwandan blog, as my period as a Togetthere volunteer only lasts five more weeks! Don’t worry though, I’ll be a good blogger from now on, and write at least one more before I leave. It’s actually a bit of a paradox: I’m online much more often than at the beginning now, but you hear less from me. One of my assignments at CAF Isonga is to identify potential investors using the internet, so I’ve been using their cellular modem (which is quite good) quite a lot, but that actually has swallowed time because with the internet there were more interesting things to do than typing blogs. One of my online activities has been to look for accommodation in Brussels, where I hope to “settle” at the end of September. No luck yet though.
So, what’s been happening around here? Lots of things: I was at the agricultural exposition in Kigali promoting CAF’s warehouse receipt system (you know, the thing I wrote about two blogs ago), and I hung out with some great people from Florida State University.
They were here in Gitarama/Muhanga for an annual volunteer programme called Global Peace Exchange. Too bad I got to know them too late though: they actually spent more than two months here, but I didn’t really get to know them until a few weeks before they left. That was because of my “why should I approach Westerners just because they’re white?” doctrine (which by now I have pretty much abandoned).
My volunteer activities here have been expanded: I now also give English conversation classes and computer workshops to the three organisations that I deal with here (my hosts Ugama/CSC and the two microfinance institutions). It’s great fun, their level is already quite good so we can do some interesting stuff.
What’s less fun is the fact that electricity and running water get interrupted very frequently lately. It’s dry season (three rainshowers since the beginning of June), so reservoirs get depleted more quickly, and I guess the heat somehow affects power generation as well. Plus, without electricity, no water is pumped, making things worse. It’s annoying to have to shower with a bucket around three times a week, but I manage. And the stars look even better without light pollution!
Inge in the back of the pick-up
Last week and the week before that, Inge, who’s been a good friend of mine for years, happened to be here for her work (at AgriProFocus, an umbrella organisation that coordinates the agriculture-related work of Dutch NGOs). So we actually had some professional meetings (one dashing past rice fields in the back of a pick-up truck), and also had fun on the weekend, going out with my Rwandan friends (there was a great live band!) and diving into luxury in the countryside (at George and Lydie’s lodge in Shyogwe; that’s where my Belgian friend Bart stayed when he was still here – by now he’s finished his thesis back in Gent).
That’s all for now, let’s see what interesting things I can do in the weeks ahead!
En, al wat gevonden in Brussel? Ga je met Vena samenwonen, of is dat plan van de baan?